Max Whitlock ended Great Britain’s 120-year wait for gymnastics gold and then proceeded to double his tally in the space of two extraordinary hours on this day at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Whitlock clinched gold on both the floor and his favoured pommel horse apparatus to become the first British athlete to win two individual Olympic titles on the same day.
If his victory in the pommel final, pushing team-mate Louis Smith into silver, was almost to be expected, it was his earlier performance on the floor which stunned those who believed he had only a slim chance of a podium place.
The then 23-year-old landed a superb score of 15.633 then waited as a result which even he had intimated might be out of the question slowly began to turn to reality as key rivals including Kenzo Shirai and Samuel Mikulak messed up.
Ultimately Whitlock, who refused to watch any of his rivals’ routines, edged Brazilian pair Diego Hypolito and Arthur Mariano into silver and bronze
positions respectively, an unexpected result which sparked wild celebrations among the home fans and earned the Hemel Hempstead star his slice of history.
Whitlock grinned as he watched the Union Flag being raised highest in an Olympic gymnastics venue for the first time, then somehow refocused to deliver a pommel routine which lived up to his status as favourite after winning the world title in Glasgow the previous year.
Whitlock, who already boasted a bronze medal from the men’s all-around competition a week before, said: “It was quite difficult – I couldn’t take in what
had happened on the floor. It hit me like a ton of bricks because I wasn’t watching any of the routines before or after me, and it was crazy and it made
history.
“But I knew I had another job to do – I had to head back in the training gym, refocus and start warming up for the pommel because I had one more routine to do and now I can proudly say I have finished the Olympics with a smile on my face.
“This has out-done our expectations. This was my first floor final in the Olympics and the fact it only comes around once every four years makes it even more special. It makes me feel complete, I think.”
Player of the Match Romario Shepherd took a T20I career-best 4-31 and Brandon King scored an impressive unbeaten half-century to lead the West Indies to a commanding eight-wicket win over India and take the five-match series 3-2 in Lauderhill, Florida on Sunday.
Replying to India’s score of 165-9, the West Indies cruised to 171-2 with 12 balls to spare.
The Caribbean men who have been having a tough time of it this past year, won the first two matches but then lost the last two making Sunday’s match a must-win for either team. The odds favoured India who emphatically won the fourth match by nine wickets at the same venue on Saturday, but the West Indies defied expectations and the tourists to produce their most complete performance of the series to beat India in a multi-match series for the first time since 2016.
After losing Kyler Mayers for 10 in the second over, Brandon King stepped up when it mattered most, scoring an unbeaten 85 from 55 balls. It was his highest international score in T20 Internationals. The Jamaican put on 107 for the second wicket with Player of the Series Nicholas Pooran, who made 47 before he got out going for a reverse sweep to a full delivery outside off and was caught at slip to hand Tilak Varma with a wicket off his second delivery in international cricket.
Pooran’s dismissal seemed to spark a sense of urgency in King, who smashed Chahal for consecutive sixes in the 16th over and then smashed Varma for a six and a four in the 17th to bring the West Indies within sight of victory.
Captain Shai Hope, who replaced Pooran, meanwhile, raced to 16 from just 12 deliveries before ending the match off the last ball of the 18th over with a straight six off Jaiswal to finish unbeaten on 22.
India won the toss and chose to bat first and almost immediately regretted the decision after Akeal Hosein dismissed the dangerous opening pair of Yahashvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill for five and nine, respectively.
Suryakumar Yadav held down one end but India was unable to put together any lasting partnerships and lost wickets steadily. Roston Chase dismissed Tilak Varma for 27 opening the door for Shepherd to wreak havoc on the Indian lower order, removing Sanju Samson (13), Hardik Pandya (14), Arshdeep Singh (8) and Kuldeep Yadav for a duck.
In between, Jason Holder got the wicket of Axar Patel for eight as the Indian batters struggled to withstand the incisive bowling of the West Indies. Holder eventually broke Suryakumar’s resistance, trapping him lbw in the 18th over.
Shepherd finished with 4-31 and Hosein 2-24 while Holder took 2-36.
Unless could make the leap to Group One company after a convincing victory in the Michael John Kennedy Memorial Irish EBF Stakes at the Curragh.
Trained by Aidan O’Brien, Unless boasts a sterling pedigree as a daughter of US Triple Crown winner Justify out of 2017 Cheveley Park Stakes victor Clemmie.
However, the filly had yet to really make her mark, winning a Naas maiden before finishing fourth in the Sandringham at Royal Ascot and second in a Killarney Listed heat last time.
Kept to that level but upped to 10 furlongs, Unless travelled well throughout in the hands of Gary Carroll, racing prominently before mounting a decisive challenge with a couple of furlongs to run.
The 6-1 shot found plenty for pressure and came home a length and three-quarters clear of 5-4 favourite Azazat, with Paddy Power making her a 25-1 shot from 33s for the Yorkshire Oaks at York on August 24.
“We’re delighted with her. She always looked like she would get that trip and she’s a typical Justify, wants a Classic trip, and she could even get further as Gary said she galloped all the way down to the boards,” said O’Brien.
“She’s Clemmie’s first foal so she’s a seriously valuable mare.
“She will definitely stay further and the Yorkshire Oaks could be a possibility.”
Jerome Reynier has the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Qipco British Champions Day in mind for Facteur Cheval after his honourable second to Paddington at Goodwood.
The four-year-old was been incredibly consistent in France all year, placing in a string of Group races when never far behind the winner.
In late May he was third in the Prix d’Ispahan at ParisLongchamp, coming home just a head behind Owen Burrows’ Anmaat in the nine-furlong Group One.
His next destination was the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood, another Group One for which he was a 11-1 shot under Maxime Guyon.
Aidan O’Brien’s Paddington dominated the market and was ultimately the winner, but Reynier’s runner gave the 4-9 favourite a real run for his money despite encountering some traffic problems two furlongs from home.
Facteur Cheval now has a return to British shores pencilled into his diary, with another run on home turf beforehand likely, as Reynier considers the Prix du Moulin over the Prix Daniel Wildenstein to allow for the ideal Ascot preparation.
“We’re very happy with him, he has been recovering from the run and the journey and he is in very good shape,” the trainer said.
“We are going to aim for the QEII at the end of the year and maybe have another run in between in something like the Moulin.
“We will see, depending on the ground, the opposition and how he feels.
“He could race there in September, but we are aiming for the QEII which is on October 21. I don’t really want to try the Prix Daniel Wildenstein on the Arc weekend on the September 30 and then three weeks later send him to Ascot – that’s maybe a little bit too much to ask of him.”
Reynier hopes the horse will continue to take strides forward and could prove to be as reliable a campaigner as his evergreen stablemate Skalleti.
“He ran very well, he is improving mentally and physically and should be a very nice horse for the QEII and next year he should be a proper international campaigner,” he said.
“He handles everything but we are trying to manage him and the softer it is, the better it is for him.
“We’ve done it with Skalleti and there are many points of comparison with them, hopefully with Facteur Cheval we’ll end up with 12 Group wins like Skalleti has already!”
Skalleti is a stalwart of the Reynier stable and a remarkably consistent performer over a mile to 10 furlongs, winning 20 of his 31 starts with over half of his successes coming in Group company – including twice at the top level.
He is another horse who appreciates cut in the ground and he will be aimed at the Prix Dollar, a Group Two run on Arc weekend that he has won twice previously.
“It’s a question of the weather and the ground,” Reynier said.
“He’ll probably be aiming for the Prix Dollar on Arc weekend, he’s won the race twice.
“He loves Longchamp and the ground is very often soft there on Arc weekend, so that’s probably the plan with him.”
Inspiral bounced back to her very best to defend her title in the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois at Deauville.
The John and Thady Gosden-trained filly enjoyed one of her finest hours when triumphing in the mile Group One 12 months ago, but arrived on the Normandy coast with a point to prove having failed to get involved in the Sussex Stakes 11 days ago.
Ridden with restraint in the early stages by Frankie Dettori as favourite Big Rock set ablaze on the front end, the Italian conjured up a piece of magic aboard the Cheveley Park-owned four-year-old and when the time came to unleash his challenge, he had tacked across to the opposite side of the track to where the duo exited the stalls.
With a furlong to run it was Christopher Head’s French Derby second Big Rock who was still at the head of affairs, but Inspiral and her Royal Ascot conqueror Triple Time were looming large and although Kevin Ryan’s Queen Anne scorer couldn’t maintain his challenge, Inspiral was soon in full flow as she stormed through the line to register her first victory of the season.
The win gave both Dettori and the Clarehaven team a fourth straight success in Deauville’s showpiece, while it was the 52-year-old Italian’s eighth and final win in the race overall as he prepares to wave goodbye at the end of the season.
International assignments could be on the radar for Marbaan following his return to form at the Qatar Goodwood Festival.
Winner of the Vintage Stakes over track and trip as a juvenile, Charlie Fellowes’ three-year-old had only top-class performers Kinross and Isaac Shelby ahead of him when running over seven furlongs for the first time this season in the Lennox Stakes.
He will now be aimed at either Newbury’s Hungerford Stakes or the City of York Stakes during York’s Ebor meeting, which could tee up a trip oversees, with options in both America and Australia on the table for the son of Oasis Dream.
“He’s taken his race at Goodwood really well and it was great to get him back on track, even though the ground was a little bit softer than ideal,” said Fellowes.
“He’s got options of the Hungerford or the City of York and after that things are slightly up in the air.
“We may consider going a bit further afield and look at something in America or possibly the Golden Eagle in Sydney. I guess that will depend how the next run goes but I think he’s definitely better on better ground, so that is why that has come into our thinking.
“A race like the Prix de la Foret would have been ideal but the likelihood of it being on good ground is extremely rare, so you kind of have to start thinking a bit imaginatively and there’s incredible prize-money to be won in Australia and also options on quicker ground in America.”
Although set to remain at seven furlongs for his next outing, Fellowes would have no hesitation dropping back to six furlongs again in the future and is keen to point out his underwhelming effort in the Commonwealth Cup is his only poor showing at that distance.
He continued: “I actually think he has the speed for six furlongs and he proved that at Salisbury where he split a Group One winner (Khaadem) and a Group One second (Run To Freedom). The form of that race could not have worked out any better.
“I just think the race at Ascot was a line through job, he’s just not the sort of horse you can be aggressive on. He had to make most of his running in a small group of three that day and that is not the way to ride him. He’s much better with a bit of cover, sitting in behind one or two and I think he would be just as fine over six.”
Whereas Marbaan requires quick ground to be seen at his best, one who relishes testing conditions is stablemate Vadream, who claimed both the Cammidge Trophy and Palace House Stakes earlier in the season, but has been on the sidelines of late.
Owned by Coventry City chairman Doug King, the five-year-old has been out of action with injury at a time when underfoot conditions have been in her favour.
However, having been on the go since February, Fellowes is happy to have been handed an unexpected opportunity to give the daughter of Brazen Beau a mid-season breather ahead of her big-race targets towards the end of the campaign.
“Vadream had a small setback a couple of weeks ago. She’s had a bruised foot and she had a very easy week last week and she’s back cantering now,” said the Bedford House handler.
“She’s got lots and lots of entries, but she kind of needed a freshen up anyway. So although there has been soft ground around while she has been out and she could have run in the Maurice de Gheest I guess, it won’t have done her any harm having a little bit of a freshen up mid-season.
“We have all the races like the Flying Five, the Prix de l’Abbaye and then the Champion Sprint, along with races like the Bengough Stakes at a slightly lower level as options. When she gets her ground she is going to be very dangerous.
“I’d love to run her in an Abbaye or at the Curragh in the Flying Five, I think that would be a lovely option if she got some soft ground over there in Ireland.”
Twilight Calls is poised to add his name to what is shaping up to be a red-hot renewal of York’s Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes later this month.
Henry Candy’s five-year-old has yet to strike at Group level, but has more than held his own when tackling some top-quality sprinting assignments in the past two seasons.
Runner-up in the King’s Stand Stakes in 2022, a return to Royal Ascot unleashed the best version of Twilight Calls, where he could arguably have finished closer than his three-and-a-quarter-length fourth if enjoying more luck in running.
Having missed the King George Stakes at Goodwood on account of the testing conditions at the Sussex venue, Twilight Calls will now throw his hat into the ring for the Knavesmire Group One on August 25, which is attracting some of the best speedsters around and a race Candy won with the gelding’s grandsire Kyllachy in 2002.
“The ground wasn’t right at Goodwood for him, so it will be York and then we would consider Ireland for the five-furlong Flying Five,” said Chris Richardson, managing director for owners Cheveley Park Stud.
“We know he has the ability, he just needs everything to fall right. Royal Ascot was painful to watch and Ryan Moore got off and said he ran into trouble and he is a horse that just needs a bit of luck to go his way, and as often is the case, it doesn’t.
“He’s given us a lot of fun and is helping us promote the sire Twilight Son and so York is the plan.”
Simca Mille entered the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe picture with a decisive victory in the Westminster 133rd Grosser Preis von Berlin.
The Hoppegarten Group One has been used as a stopping point on the route to ParisLongchamp in the past, with 2021 Arc hero Torquator Tasso winning the race in 2020 before chasing home Alpinista during the year of his triumph in Europe’s richest middle-distance contest.
Last year it was Charlie Appleby’s Rebel’s Romance that took home the spoils and stablemate New London made a bold bid from the front looking to repeat the dose for the Godolphin handler.
However, with the challenge of last year’s St Leger second beginning to falter upon straightening for home, the eye was drawn to Stephane Wattel’s French contender who was travelling menacingly in the hands of Alexis Pouchin.
The four-year-old, who skipped the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot last month, soon stormed clear of his pursuers to give his handler a Group One success and earn quotes of 25-1 from 33s from Paddy Power for the Arc in the French capital on October 1.
“It’s fantastic for the horse and I must admit it is nice for me because it is my first Group One after over 30 years of training,” Wattel told Wettstar.
“I’m so happy it happened here in Berlin in front of a fantastic crowd.
“It’s a difficult job and sometimes you have difficult periods, but when it goes well and you train a horse of this quality, we forget everything and we are so happy.
“He’s engaged in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and as you know, some nice winners of the Grosser Preis von Berlin have won the Arc. We might have a try at that and it will be the next target – a very big one.”
King Of Steel is set to have his credentials tested over 10 furlongs following his third-placed finish in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Roger Varian’s Derby runner-up headed to Ascot for a rematch with his Epsom conqueror Auguste Rodin on the back of an impressive victory over course and distance in the King Edward VII Stakes at the Royal meeting.
The Amo Racing-owned colt was sent off the 9-2 second-favourite at the Berkshire track and although faring better than Aidan O’Brien’s dual Classic winner who disappointed, the son of Wootton Bassett was unable to reel in the winner Hukum and runner-up Westover despite travelling powerfully into the home straight.
A drop back in trip is now on the cards and with entries for both the Juddmonte International Stakes at York (August 23) and Leopardstown’s Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes (September 9), there are plenty of big-race options available to the strapping colt, who could quickly provide his owners with more big-race glory after Bucanero Fuerte secured a first UK and Irish Group One victory in the Phoenix Stakes.
“King Of Steel is in good form and Roger is very happy with him,” said Tom Pennington, racing and operations manager for Amo.
“We’re undecided where we will go at the minute and we’ve got a lot of decisions to make.
“He’s in the Juddmonte, he’s entered in the Irish Champion and we put him in the Champion Stakes at Ascot the other day and I think we believe now that 10 furlongs is his trip. He’s not a slow horse by any means.”
A trip to Dublin for Irish Champions Weekend would give King Of Steel an additional two weeks to recover from his Ascot exertions and is slated as the slight favourite at this stage.
And the feeling within the camp is a truly-run race over a mile and a quarter is where he will be seen at the peak of his powers having just faded in the closing stages of the King George.
“All options are open and we need to speak to Roger,” continued Pennington. “At this stage I would say we will probably be leaning towards the Irish Champion Stakes.
“I think we got away with it at Royal Ascot, but as you saw he was keen early in the King George. You could argue coming round into the straight he was the last horse off the bridle and just flattened out the last furlong, Kevin (Stott) said he was running on fumes.
“I think a strongly-run 10 furlongs with an end-to-end gallop is where you will really see him at his best.”
New penalties for slow over rates have been introduced for the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) ahead of the 2023 season.
As is customary in the T20 format, each team will have 85 mins to bowl their overs, but this will be monitored more closely at this year’s tournament. The fielding side is expected to have completed the 17th over of the innings after 72’15, the 18th by 76’30 and the 19th by 80’45. Over rates will be monitored by the third umpire and communicated to the captains via on-field umpires at the end of every over, as well as to the crowd and TV audience, with graphics showing how far they are behind (or ahead of) the over rate. Dispensations will be given for injuries, DRS and time-wasting by batting side where appropriate.
To ensure that games are finished in good time, penalties for slow over rates will kick in from the 18th over, and will be as follows:
Michael Hall, CPL’s Tournament Operations Director, said: “We have been disappointed that our T20 games have been getting longer and longer each year, and we want to do what we can to arrest this trend. It is the duty of those involved in cricket to ensure that the game keeps moving and we have sensitized both the franchises and our match officials to this duty ahead of the tournament. Our hope is that these in game penalties are not needed, but we believe they are proportionate and necessary.”
The 2023 CPL gets underway on Wednesday with defending champions, the Jamaica Tallawahs, facing the St. Lucia Kings.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill starred to help India get a series-leveling nine-wicket over the West Indies in the fourth T20 International at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium in Lauderhill on Saturday.
The West Indies made 178-8 from their 20 overs after winning the toss and choosing to bat first.
Shimron Hetmyer led the way with a 39-ball 61, his fifth T20I fifty, including three fours and four sixes.
Shai Hope provided good support with 45 off 29 balls against Arshdeep Singh’s 3-38 off four overs. Kuldeep Yadav continued his good form in the series with 2-26 from four overs in support.
India’s opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill then made quick work of the West Indies total, batting beautifully to put on 165 for the first wicket before Gill fell in the 16th over for a 47-ball 77. Gill’s knock included three fours and five sixes.
The partnership put the pair level with Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul for the highest opening partnership for India in T20 Internationals. Rohit and Rahul did that against Sri Lanka in Indore six years ago.
In the end, India needed just 17 overs to reach 179-1. Jaiswal ended 84* off 51 balls including 11 fours and three sixes.
The fifth and series-deciding T20I will take place on Sunday.
Bucanero Fuerte provided trainer Adrian Murray and owners Amo Racing with a first taste of Group One success with an impressive display in the Keeneland Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh.
Third behind the unbeaten River Tiber in the Coventry at Royal Ascot, the Wootton Bassett colt had since edged out the reopposing Unquestionable to lift the Group Two Railway Stakes over the Phoenix course and distance.
Unquestionable was the 15-8 favourite for the rematch as he looked to provide Aidan O’Brien with a staggering 18th victory in the race, but Bucanero Fuerte reaffirmed his superiority in no uncertain terms under Kevin Stott.
On the speed from the start, Stott’s mount kicked away from Unquestionable entering the final two furlongs and it was soon all over bar the shouting.
Porta Fortuna, the previously unbeaten Albany Stakes winner, came from further back in an attempt to bridge the gap, but Bucanero Fuerte was well on top and had four lengths in hand at the line.
Stott saluted the crowd on passing the post, having claimed his first top-level win since being appointed number one jockey for owners Amo Racing earlier this year.
Hollie Doyle, Saffie Osborne and Hayley Turner produced a superb team effort to lift the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup for the Ladies at Ascot – where Doyle was crowned leading rider following two victories.
Japanese ace Kazuo Yokoyama had made it the perfect start for the Rest Of The World with a win in the opening Shergar Cup Dash aboard Rogue Lightning, but while the outfit that also comprised Matthew Chadwick and Joao Moreira stayed competitive all afternoon and led going into the last race, it was the Ladies who ultimately won the day.
The all-important victory came through Osborne and Ed Walker’s 7-2 favourite Dark Trooper in the concluding Shergar Cup Sprint, where Doyle was fourth with Washington Heights. That left the Ladies on 78 points in the final standings, from the Rest of the World on 73.
Doyle sat atop the jockeys’ standings on 48 points, with Osborne – who also won two races – tied with Chadwick on 30 points.
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